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NXT Takeover: In Your House 2021 | A Coherent Review.


If I actually agreed with what Triple H said on the pre-show media call regarding fans, this review wouldn't happen but apparently if you like a piece of entertainment, don't complain a single thing about it. 

Something that a weird Zack Snyder fan will probably tell me in all caps for no reason. 

With that out of the way, how was Takeover? It was a lower-tier Takeover show but I had a good time for the most part.  

Part of NXT's success is the instant response that you can definitely hear from the fans coming out of a moment or an entire match.

And, with the return of a full live crowd atmosphere, that statement was proven to be the exact opposite because that crowd was a dud. 

There were more noises during the empty area phase of WWE programming than this show. It really sucks that it had to be this way. 

Images via WWE.com

Bronson Reed And Msk vs Legado De La Fantasma. A Winner Takes All Match. 


We went from a musical performance and a Todd Pettengill introduction to this decent opening contest. 

And the bout maintained its high octane action throughout it. 

Bronson Reed showed off his power and strength which makes sense given that he's the resident THICK BOI (what the f**k was that, Omar? You're not funny). 


This match reminds me how fantastic Msk are as a tag team. They just might be my favourite tag team to watch. 

After Bronson put Santos Escobar through the barricade, the big man decided to deliver the tsunami splash to retain the gold. 

Like I alluded to earlier, the match was decent but it wasn't anything unique or notable. It was just a solid 6 man tag team match, Playas!  

Mercedes Martinez vs Xia Li. 


Todd Pettengill continues to be the wholesome dad as he tries to roll the tape for the Mercedes Martinez and Xia Li match at the first-ever Mae Young Classic Tournament like it's 1995.

Speaking of Xia Li, that woman got an. En. Trance. Li's striking abilities got the best out of Martinez which led to her victory. 

After the match, Xia Li ate a series of chair shots from Martinez. Martinez was then encountered and taken down with a chokehold by Li's "spiritual" leader of some sort, Tia Sha. 


I've never seen a character that won a match and then proceeded to look weak as hell thanks to a post-match beatdown. 

Not gonna lie, it kind of damaged everything that they tried to build with Xia Li by a little bit. 


Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher were promoting their upcoming tag team tornado match with Grizzled Young Veterans in this coming NXT episode. Should be a decent match. 

Cameron Grimes vs LA Knight In A Ladder Match For The Million Dollar Championship. 


While I don't mind how the match was set up, I'm curious as to where it leads for the winner of that match? Oh wait, I shouldn't speculate and just watch the thing as intended. 

It is a ladder match which means a whole lotta ladder slamming brutality and I enjoyed every single second of it. 

LA Knight prevailed in the end and it's an odd choice given that the dude has had an inconsistent booking ever since he showed up to the yellow brand. 

However, I don't hate it. 


Todd Pettengill continues his "wholesome dad" charm while promoting WWE shop alongside the hot new stable, Hit Row. 

Raquel Gonzalez vs Ember Moon For The NXT Women's Championship. 


Raquel Gonzalez aka the first Hispanic women to win a WWE title. You can't say that WWE promotes equality, am I right!? 

The match was meh. I'll describe this match as "it's just kinda there". 

I will say, that DDT from Ember Moon to Gonzalez on the entrance ramp was pretty rad. 


Raquel Gonzalez retained the championship with that one-handed modified chokeslam. 

In the final Todd Pettengill segment of the night, he made Dexter Lumis angry because Todd answered a question about how the women were treating Lumis. 

Dick move, my good sir! 

Karrion Kross vs Johnny Gargano vs Pete Dunne vs Adam Cole vs Kyle O'Reilly For The NXT Championship. 


This ain't an NXT Takeover: In Your House show without 90s inspired gear and Johnny Gargano understood that assessment to a T.

This main event encounter kicked all sorts of behinds. 

Only Kyle O'Reilly can pull off a knee strike AND a kneebar to perfection because the dude is just that damn good. 

After experiencing the Hellmouth that was 2020 (aka the longest and quickest year of my life), Seeing Johnny Gargano interact with Adam Cole was oddly nostalgic.  


Oh, my God. Karrion Kross actually walked out of the CWC still the NXT champion? A question that is more surprising and intriguing than a "who done it" flick. 

Mitchell asked William Regal about this show and he wasn't optimistic about his future as the NXT general manager. 

Is it related to the chaos that ensued during the show that involved the women's championship and the NXT championship program? 

I don't know but the corporate overlords at WWE got me with their cliffhanger. 

So, to recap for all of you slow mofos. 

Like: Todd Pettengill, the million-dollar championship ladder match, 5-way NXT title match, the Willam Regal cliffhanger. 

Didn't like: Xia Li looked weak in a post-match beatdown, the live audience. 

 

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